RNPP to be delayed: Russian Ambassador

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Staff Reporter :

The Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander Mantytskiy, has indicated that the ongoing situation in Bangladesh might cause a slight delay in the construction process of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

After a courtesy meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain on Thursday, Mantytskiy made this remark to journalists at the foreign ministry.

“I understand that due to the current situation, there might be a minor delay in the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, but it will not be a long one,” the Russian Ambassador said.

Last December, the Russian Foreign Ministry commented that the United States might create an ‘Arab Spring-like’ environment in Bangladesh. In response to a recent question about whether the student and public movements are a form of ‘Bangla Spring,’ Mantytskiy said, “I do not have any such information. If you have such information, you can share it with us.”

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The flagship project in Pabna district is being built to generate 2400MW of electricity at a cost of $12.65 billion. Of this amount, $11.38 billion is being provided by Russia as soft loans.

According to the original project proposal, unit-1 was scheduled to be operational on December 23, 2022, unit-2 on October 8, 2023, and the entire project was to be completed by December 31, 2025. However, the deadlines have not been met due to various global crises, including the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war.

The construction of unit-1 of the plant formally began on November 30, 2017, and unit-2 on July 14, 2018.

The first Russian shipment of uranium reached the site on the bank of the Padma in Ishwardi in October 2023. With this, Bangladesh obtained the recognition of being the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear energy.

State-owned Rosatom Company of Russia is undertaking the venture to construct the plant with two VVER-1200 reactors.

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